


Lake Noir

by sadgirlsclub



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Blood, Dark, Depression, Drug Use, Kidnapping, Luke just wants to help, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Mystery, Past Child Abuse, Policer Officer!Ashton, Psychological Trauma, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sad Calum, Sad Michael, Suicide Attempt, Thriller, Troubled pasts, Violence, ashton is a dick, luke and ashton are brothers, they're not in a band
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26698753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadgirlsclub/pseuds/sadgirlsclub
Summary: When Calum Hood and his older brother, Alexi, arrived in the small ghost like town of Lake Noir two years ago, they became the immediate attention of everyone there. Perhaps it was because of how strange they were: reclusive, both ebbed in a darkness that screamed nothing but terrifying with a wicked coldness in their eyes that had you flinching under their stares and the very obvious protruding scar across Calum's face.It might have also been because Lake Noir wasn't a place people willingly came to get away from their problems or start a family - it was a small town hidden away in the Ohioan west that people just passed through. It was a place filled with a history of secrets in the very middle of nowhere, where everybody knew each other and their skeletons in the closet. Which is why it was strange that the Hood siblings had moved in one day, unannounced and incredibly intimidating, having not made a single acquaintance since they arrived.There was something about the Hoods' and their odd behavior that had Michael wanting to know more about the siblings, especially Calum. And he was determined to find out.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Original Female Character(s), Michael Clifford/Calum Hood, Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings (past)
Kudos: 1





	1. Fate Is Written In A Feathered Quill Pen

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, welcome to my first 5SOS fic on AO3! I used to write on Wattpad a lot but moved to here as I feel the quality of writing here is so much better. This is the first story that I've actually been happy with and have an idea of where I want it to actually go. This first chapter is very loosely based off the Netflix series Dark and you will see a couple of references in this chapter. 
> 
> Happy reading!

I believe that when we're born, our fates are written out for us from the beginning (preferably by one of those old fashioned quill pens) and thus it becomes the story that we follow for the rest of our lives, forever unknowing of which path we will take. Perhaps there's more than one path and somewhere along the way, the story changes slightly from the original plan but we still end up with the same ending. We can't escape our fate in a life that's already written out for us.

I know that my fate wasn't to be here, in Lake Noir, rotting away for all eternity. Which is why when I was eleven years old, I tried to run away for the first time. I stuffed the little clothes I had in a backpack I used for school and bolted it out of the front door before anyone would know I was gone. The sky had been overcast that day, dreary, grey clouds masking my vision but non existent of a single drop of rain. I remember my mood feeling very much like the darkness of the sky: numb. A heavy word for an eleven year old. That was the effect Lake Noir had on people: sadness. A suffocating, festering sadness that wrapped you up so tightly that it shrouded every possible means of escape. It was as if the sun had ever ceased to exist in a place which didn't even appear on a geographical map and I had to wrack my brain for the last time I had actually seen the ball of burning, orange ember in the sky. I think it might've been when we had taken a vacation out of state to California the summer before last but in Lake Noir, only the same darkened clouds loomed over the small town, a broken record that replayed the same somber, heartbreaking song over and over, a numbing white noise to fill the void.

I had only made it halfway down the street before I heard mom screaming at me, drawing the attention of our nosey neighbors and angrily chasing after me, venom dripping from her voice. Her heels had left indents in the still slightly wet concrete and I remember the feeling of her calloused hand that wrapped around my wrist, an iron like grip that was welding itself into my skin. She grabbed my shoulders harshly, forcing me to face her before a large hand met my face and my vision became blurry, the stinging in my cheek bringing tears to my pale green eyes. All that I heard after that was mum screaming at me really badly, calling me every word under the sun and I went to bed with no dinner as punishment.

The second time I tried to leave Lake Noir was when I was sixteen with my best friend Luke and I had been even more unsuccessful than the first time. It was no secret that he too despised this town (maybe even the entire state of Ohio at that) and the melancholy atmosphere that resided in the air. The sky was overcast once again but this time it _had_ rained yet the sky still remained a sickly shade of sorrowful grey as the raindrops pelted towards the ground like bullets. I hadn't got my license yet but Luke had. We ended up crashing his brother's car into a tree but missed out on being in too much trouble though with Luke's older brother being the part of the town's local Police Department.

Mom didn't punish me that day, she just looked at me with disappointment in her eyes when dad dragged me through the door that evening after having picked me up from the station and I avoided her venomous glare as I made my way to my room, locking the door behind me.

Being eighteen, and beginning my final year of high school, I was determined to leave this dismal town forever once I graduated. Everybody had made it seem impossible to ever leave Lake Noir. It was a generational town built upon the ancestors of our great grandparents, grandparents and parents and now we were expected to become the new generation who would cater to it, to look after its developing rise in the economy and the fake happy families who resided behind closed doors. People never left Lake Noir and those who did never returned. I wanted to be one of those people.

I slumped downstairs, making my way into the dining room to see mom busying herself with trying to get everything ready on time. Being the principal of the only high school here and with the first day back after the summer vacation, she was even more stressed than usual. Over the years, her stone like demeanor and icy heart had warmed up like a burning ember flaring too bright but the damage had already been done.

My younger sister, Courtney, who was a year and a half younger than I was, pushed past me roughly and I scoffed as I watched her begin to argue with mom and my eleven year old brother, Dylan, who was sat at the dining table for breakfast.

"Mom, have you seen my American Apparel skirt?" she announced loudly, placing her hands on her hips and shooting daggers at Dylan and I. I had to refrain from rolling my eyes at her pretentious behavior before taking a seat on the couch and turning on the TV, trying in vain to block out the too many voices next to me. I could care less about what was playing. I just didn't want to be involved when my little sister, with her dirty blonde hair and greyish-blue eyes, who often picked on the weaker kids at school and bared the same strong personality as the woman who gave birth to her, would end up in a heated fight with my mother.

Mom rubbed her temples in annoyance, still busying herself around the dining room and trying to get things organized for work. "Courtney, if it isn't in the laundry or in your room, then I don't know where it is," she huffed out irritated, not even looking at my sister as Courtney rolled her eyes and turned to face my younger brother.

"Did you steal it?" she questioned accusingly, lightly smacking Dylan upside the head as he glared at her, moaning about how her hit had hurt and smacking her hands away as she stormed out of the dining room, still muttering on about her beloved skirt.

"Michael, would you please come and eat some breakfast? For God's sake," mom exasperated and I knew she was only being this way because she was under a lot of pressure. I had to remind myself that it wasn't personal and that it was a stressful time with her being the principal and that everything was ten times the amount of stress it usually was.

Dad came in a moment later, his grey tee-shirt drenched in sweat from his daily morning run before he'd have to head off to work. I refrained from rolling my eyes at his attempt to stay fit -- he was a forty-eight year old man who was one of the best lawyers in Ohio and had his own firm here in Lake Noir. After all, he was the reason why we were privileged enough to be the richest people in town.

Both him and mom had been born and raised here, just like their parents had been and just like we were destined to. I internally scoffed at the thought of anyone willingly wanting to stay in such a drab, melancholy town where the sun was nonexistent and everyone pretended that there wasn't any skeletons in the closet, like we were all dolls in a picture perfect house.

"I found my skirt!" Courtney yelled from the other side of the house and I decided I couldn't take another second around the presence of my overbearing family. I threw my backpack over my shoulder, shoved my headphones into my ears, eagerly wanting to leave the mad house. I just wanted to get out and breathe and not feel like there was a hand squeezing around my neck constantly, cutting off any circulation of life, pretending everything was okay, like we were one big happy family. There was nothing I hated more than feeling like I was being suffocated.

Everything had stopped for a moment and came to a standstill, Courtney clutching her skirt in hands, Dylan pausing half way through eating his now soggy cereal and dad dropping the towel he used to wipe the sweat off his face. I could see mom wringing her hands together in front of her, clad in her work clothes as eyes drifted to my dad for a brief moment before turning to face me again.

"What?" I exclaimed, shifting uncomfortably under their stares.

"You're leaving already?" mom asked, her big, slate blue eyes staring at me questioningly. The maliciousness she once held when I was a child was gone and replaced with something of sadness and pity. I couldn't stand her looking at me that way. It reminded me of that night and I wanted to nothing more that to throw up.

My gaze briefly drifted to the ogling eyes of my family. Courtney had her head down, hands playing with the material of her skirt as she refused to meet my gaze. Dylan was pretty much the same except he had barely acknowledged me at all since everything that had happened. He wouldn't speak to me, could barely stand being in the same room as me. I knew it was because he was too young and didn't fully understand the situation but the stinging in my chest only seemed to get bigger every time. Dad was staring at us intently, waiting for one of us to make the next move, waiting for me to collapse.

Ever since the incident in summer, everyone had been acting like they were stepping on eggshells around me, quietly scuttling around like the loudest of noises was enough to send me spiraling out of control. It was as though they were waiting for me to relapse and go back to the person I was before even though I reassured them I was getting better. Even they weren't stupid enough to believe me when I said that.

"Yeah?" I replied but it came out as more of a question.

"You don't want a lift?" she asked hesitantly, afraid any sudden movement would send me into overdrive. She made her way over to where I was standing and every inch of me wanted to roll my eyes at her but I didn't, instead choosing to keep my expression neutral. I didn't want to be weak; weakness is what lead me to this in the first place.

I just smiled back, reassuring her that I was okay. "I'm just gonna walk, catch some fresh air before the new school year, y'know?" I hadn't sounded convincing at all and it was obvious from the faraway look in her eyes that she knew I was lying but didn't argue against it.

She nodded slowly, a clothed lip (and very obviously forced) smile gracing her aging face and showing the evident wrinkles around her lips and I noticed the way that it didn't reach her eyes. I know she blamed herself for what happened even though I had reassured her and everyone else countless times that it wasn't her fault but the both of us knew deep down that it was. I would never tell her that though. I didn't want to break her heart even more than it already was.

"Okay, I'll see you at school then," she exclaimed and I nodded once, telling her that I'd be okay. I could see dad and Courtney both watching the exchange with sympathy on their faces but I didn't want to show them how much it annoyed me when they did that. I just wanted to get out.

I backed out of the house quickly, not wanting to make any more interaction with them and began walking the hour it would take to get to school on foot.

**xxx**

When I arrived, Luke was already waiting for me at his locker and I could see he was struggling to fit his guitar case inside. I snorted, watching him in amusement as he continued to curse under his breath and it was obvious to both of us that the guitar would definitely _not_ fit but he was still trying in vain, anyway.

"What are you doing?" I chuckled, which quickly turned into a laugh when he flew about fifty feet in the air at the sound of my voice behind him.

"Jesus Christ Michael, don't do that!" he sneered, shoving me lightly but then pulling me into a hug. Luke was the only person outside of my family who knew what happened during the summer and I was eternally indebted for everything he had done for me. He had been my best friend for the last ten years and sometimes it still surprised me that he stuck by my side despite all the baggage I came with. We hugged for awhile before he pulled back and smiled sadly at me, holding me out at arms length.

"God, is it good to see you again. It was so boring around here without you," he exasperated, letting out a nervous chuckle. I could tell he had a million questions he wanted to ask me but remained silent and I was grateful.

"Likewise." I replied, not meeting his eyes. I didn't have the words to say to him about what had happened, couldn't give him any clear answers as to why. Why it happened that night, what had happened that night and everything that came with it afterwards. I just didn't have an answer for anything because I truly wouldn't know where to start and it made me feel weak. It was bad enough my family couldn't even look at me in the same light anymore let alone my best friend.

"You uh... you didn't tell anyone about where I was, right?" I asked, scuffing my feet against the school's cold flooring. It was obvious from how much my voice shook that I was terrified of his answer.

He gazed at me intently, his bright, sparkling blue eyes void of any emotion as I tried to decipher what he was feeling. Luke had always been a difficult person to read, no matter what state of ecstasy he was in. He had always been good at hiding himself, locked away in the kaleidoscopic madness of his mind.

"Nope, not even Ash. I told everyone you were away in France on an exchange trip, playing 'hide the baguette.'" He reiterated, eyes holding a mischievous glint. I knew Luke would never tell a single soul about my whereabouts but I was still nervous about anyone finding out.

"Thanks," I replied, a sigh of relief falling past my lips before turning my attention towards the large guitar case on the ground next to us. "What's with the guitar, by the way?"

Luke groaned loudly. "Ugh, I promised Tori I'd play her a song at lunch," I watched as he rolled his cerulean blue eyes and a blush rose to his cheeks as I laughed loudly at his confession. Tori was Luke's girlfriend of two years, an African-American girl who had moved here from upstate New York after her mother had received a job as my father's secretary at the law firm. Dad always paid his employees well and from what I gathered from Luke, her mom seemed to enjoy working there. Apparently they had been running away from some shit in New York but even Luke didn't know what it was. Tori had never told him.

I raised an eyebrow, grinning wildly. "Seriously? Why?"

He picked up the guitar case and once again proceeded to shove it into his locker, failing miserably. "She saw some video on the internet of this dude with a guitar playing a song he had written for his girlfriend and then she complained about why I didn't do that shit for her, and I quote, _'guys who are musically gifted shouldn't waste their talent by not singing to their significant others,'_ so yeah, now I'm here."

The shriek of laughter that left my mouth was loud and hollow and I couldn't help it when tears sprang to my eyes at his confession.

"It's not funny, Mike! Shut up!" he glared, trying to slap my arm but then stopped after awhile realizing he hadn't heard me laugh like that in a long time. He shoved me lightly, face heating up before a small smile broke out on his face and I knew he was trying not to laugh too.

At that moment, Tori came bounding over to us, white, pearly teeth on display and a dazzling smile adorning her face, a floral dress and Luke's jean jacket wrapped around her body. Tori had always radiated happiness and positivity with her iridescent smile and bright clothing and I wondered how anyone could be so happy in a place like this. She was the brightest spark in Lake Noir and I always believed this place didn't deserve her. Her fate was not here.

"Hey babe, hey Mikey," she said, giving Luke a quick kiss on the cheek and then turning to face me. "How was France?"

"France?" I asked, confused before I remembered what Luke said earlier. "Oh uh, yeah, it was uh, it was cool," I replied, mentally sighing in relief that she didn't look confused at my lack of concern with my answer to a continent I had never even visited.

"That's great! Luke didn't stop complaining the whole summer," she exasperated, rolling her sort, brown eyes at the blonde next to her. "Where's Courtney?" she inquired, looking around the busy hallways.

"Oh, she got a lift with mom this morning, I didn't go with them. Mom was all stressed because of the first day back, y'know? Couldn't be dealing with all that shit whilst trapped in a thirty minute car journey with them." She just smiled brightly at me in response before turning her attention to the guitar Luke had brought with him.

As if on cue, I spotted Courtney making her way over to us and the urge to roll my eyes and walk in the opposite direction was strong but I remained where I was with Luke and Tori. Since the incident, she found it difficult to even acknowledge my presence and when she did, it was to spit an insult or a nasty comment in my face. I didn't blame her though; out of everyone in my family, she had taken it the hardest and the only way she was able to cope was by putting up a front to mask the pain and the anger she was hiding. We had been inseparable as kids and I was always closer to her than Dylan as we were so close in age. Dylan had come along purely because mom and dad were bored and wanted another child, leaving me and Courtney to raise him for a large portion of his early childhood. They found it difficult to commit to looking after him when their work began to get more serious. I always thought that was fucking selfish.

"Hi Luke, hi Tori," she said so very quietly that if I hadn't been straining to hear her, then I probably would've missed it. She was wearing the black American Apparel skirt she was so desperately looking for this morning with a cream colored sweater and a cropped denim jacket over the top. She had matched it with fishnet tights and a pair of black converses. Her long, dirty blonde hair hung over her shoulders and I could tell she curled the ends of them. Pulling both of them into a hug and asking them about their summer, her eyes suddenly glanced at something in the distance before meeting all of our confused stares. She smirked slightly, bringing us all into a circle as if she was about to tell us some amazing secret.

"Shit, have you guys seen Scarface?" she whispered harshly and we all turned to look at the boy at the other end of the hallway. Calum Hood and his older brother, Alexi, had come to Lake Noir two years ago and they were by far the strangest pair of siblings anyone had ever met. They were incredibly closed off and reclusive and proceeded to give anyone who had even dared to look in their direction a look that could only be described as murderous. It might've also been that their entire demeanors screamed darkness; raven black hair and all black clothing, (leather jackets and trench coats and combat boots and metal band tees) and the very obvious protruding scar across Calum's face which garnered him the name of Scarface to everyone here. Their entire presence was cold and unnerving and it might've been better if they had friends who could vouch for their violent personalities but they hadn't made the effort to befriend anyone at this school in the entirety of two years.

Alexi had graduated last year, leaving Calum behind to fend for himself at this godforsaken school and was in the same grade as Luke and I. Nobody had ever bothered to approach them, too scared of the siblings who were rumored to carry around penknives in their pockets and a list of everyone in the school who they wanted to kill. It had gotten to the point where even the teachers were too scared to talk to them so they let them do their own thing but the state weren't allowed to expel them as they were apparently under police custody and didn't have any other remaining family. Alexi was Calum's legal guardian.

Rumor had it that the reason they didn't have any parents was because they had murdered them and were under police protection but I found that hard to believe. Shouldn't they have been in prison otherwise? Luke's brother had also confirmed that that wasn't true but was unable to disclose any information due to confidentially. Apparently he didn't even know the whole truth. People said that Calum received his scar from a bar fight and others said that Alexi had given it to him and slashed his face from trying to defend himself from his psychotic little brother; Alexi had always been slightly less intimidating than Calum but that didn't mean people liked him. I had to remind myself that nobody knew the truth and it was all rumors which had spread around the school. The Hood's didn't make friends with anyone so no one knew the reality.

"Looks like he's on his own this year," Luke said and I rolled my eyes at the obvious statement.

"I wonder if he'll pull any weird shit this year like he did last year; remember when he went psycho on Justin Algrath in Mrs. Rayner's class for no reason?" Courtney exasperated, recounting when Calum had absolutely lost it at the soccer captain for making a comment about his scar.

I scoffed loudly. "Justin was being a dick that's why, he was continuously torturing him about his scar," I replied. Calum might have been a psychopath but the story that Courtney told hadn't been what I witnessed. I had been sat behind him in physics when it happened and Justin had been taunting him the whole lesson until he had finally snapped and slashed his arm with a broken test tube; of course, when mom asked what had happened, Justin had twisted the entire story to make him seem like the victim.

"Why are you suddenly defending him?" Courtney seethed and I just stared at her dumbfoundedly.

"I'm not," I snapped, suddenly feeling an inexplicable anger bubbling in my chest and I felt a small burst of satisfaction when I saw her flinch slightly at my booming voice. "I'm just saying, if you're gonna tell a story, at least get all the facts right first."

She rolled her eyes and let out a scoff at my answer. "Whatever. Let's just go to assembly before mom kicks our asses," she said harshly, storming off in the direction of the assembly hall.

"Luke, you coming?" Tori asked, watching as I leaned back on the lockers and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I'll be there in a minute, you go on in. I just gotta talk to Michael." Without saying another word, she smiled brightly and followed Courtney.

"Thanks," I smiled at my best friend, closing my eyes for a brief moment and reopening them to see Luke at me with concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed together when seeing the distressed look on my face. I couldn't tell him the truth in fear that my vulnerability and weakness would show and that was the last thing I wanted. I refused to succumb to the voices in my head telling me I needed to tell Luke the truth sometime but for now I ignored the nagging and smiled in his direction.

"I'm good," I assured before nodding my head in the direction of the assembly hall and watching Luke as he let out a loud sigh but followed me anyway. Someday, I wouldn't be weak. Someday, my fate would tell a different story, a happier one.


	2. When Sadness Meets Anger

The first day back had been stressful for everyone; talk of exams and college applications and how all the teachers told us this would be our _most difficult year yet_ and it soon became all too much for me to bear. I wasn't even planning on going to college. I'd be packing up all of my shit and leaving Lake Noir behind, disappearing into the wind where nobody would hear from me ever again. A bit like that one book _Paper Towns_ or something. That was the general idea; starting anew, finding solace in a peaceful life where nobody knew who you were. That's what I'd always hoped for anyway even though the entire idea was deemed massively unrealistic. 

I was in my last class of the day, listening to Mr. Prescott drone on about the thesis of our English assignment for _Othello_ and how it would count as part of our final grade but all I could focus on was the clock above his desk nearing the end of the school day and how I couldn't wait to smoke when I got home. I promised mom I stopped using drugs and I wasn't lying for the most part except about the weed. It was the only coping mechanism that fully helped me and even though there was an oozing guilt inside of me, I couldn't find it in me to care about her feelings.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, everyone had been out of the door at the speed of lightning, racing down the school corridors and making a beeline for the exit. I groaned loudly, letting out a frustrated yell when it started to rain and remembering I no longer had a car and that I'd have to wait for mom to finish up her work in the office knowing she could take hours. Courtney hadn't got her license yet so the possibility of her driving us home was a very obvious zero. 

"I'm sorry Mikey," Luke said, giving me a squeeze on the shoulder when realizing my situation. "You know I'd give you a lift but Ashton's home for the week and mom insists we spend time together." he said, rolling his eyes. Ashton was Luke's older brother who was a Deputy Officer at the local police department; he could be arrogant and rude and even though Luke and I had been best friends since the third grade, he always had a problem with me. I couldn't find it in me to care; the feeling was mutual.

"It's okay, Luke. I'll just wait for mom, it's no big deal," I smiled, even though he could tell I was faking. I waved goodbye and watched him walk to his brother's car, where Ashton was stood leaning against the cool metal in his uniform with his arms crossed over his chest and giving me the dirtiest look he could muster in his thick rain jacket. I grinned and I waved wildly at him, making sure my waves were exaggerated and knowing it would piss him off. I smiled in satisfaction when he glared even harder and flipped me off.

Courtney came out not long after, groaning loudly at the heavy rain and the realization that I didn't have a car. Her eyes were burned with anger, cursing under her breath before her fiery eyes turned to face me, shielding herself from the rain under the school porch.

"Great, fan-fucking-tastic, Michael! Now we have to either have to walk to the nearest bus station in the rain or wait for mom who could take hours because she's in a meeting," she yelled at me, and I flinched at her screeching voice. The pupils of her crystal blue eyes had been replaced by an enraged jet black and I just wanted to scream at her to shut up. 

"...if you hadn't had been such a fucking idiot this summer, then we wouldn't have this problem!" I zoned out and had only caught the last bit of her sentence but when those words left her mouth, I felt all the air physically leave my lungs, as if someone had punched me in the gut and cut off my airways.

"Are you serious?! How dare you!" I bellowed, aware that most of the carpark was now empty and grateful that there was hardly anybody around. It was difficult to hear anyway with the sound of the belting rain and the rage I had been holding in all day finally exploded. All I could see was red, an angry, blood red that seeped through the small crevices of my brain and leaving me unable to think rationally.

"You think I wanted any of this to happen?! You think I wanted everything to go to shit so now you or mom or dad or Dyl can't even look me in the eye anymore? Fuck you!" I seethed, breathing heavily and watching her eyes become glossy. I wanted to feel guilty but I couldn't. I knew that she had blamed me for what had happened but to hear it in person made the fire that was inside of me finally combust into a treacherous flame. I already had so much self-loathing, knowing things could've been different but instead I chose the easy way out. In the end, it had only lead to insufferable consequences.

She didn't talk to me after that. She just turned away from me and sat on the school steps, crying into her knees. I began to feel guilty and knew I had acted irrationally but anger was the only emotion I was capable of at that moment. I went to put my hand on her back but she ripped herself away from me violently and instead we both just sat in silence (with the occasional sniffle from Courtney), watching the pouring rain fall from the atramentous sky. 

The sudden bang of the school doors caught me off guard and I jumped at the loud noise. I assumed it was a student from detention or an after school club but my eyes widened at the person stood behind me: Calum Hood.

He didn't have that angry look in his eyes that he usually did, they just looked empty. Empty and dead. Like a barren loneliness of being a castaway lost at sea. The kind of loneliness that could be mistaken for a special type of sadness.

He just stood there, dark eyes staring at us, not bothering to move or say a single word.

What a freak.

The scar that covered half his face (it started just above his right eyebrow and made a jagged, diagonal line that stopped at the right side of his lip) looked even more grisly up close and I internally grimaced at the ugliness of it. It didn't even look like it had healed and was still a nasty shade of red but from the deepness of the wound, you could only just see that it wasn't a fresh cut. He had it when he first came here but I had never seen it this close and I couldn't help but judge a little, even if it did make me a bad person. Why not add another thing to the list of self-loathing?

Courtney glanced up, cowering back a little when eyeing the close proximity in which Calum stood and eyeing the protruding, coppery scar. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was scared of him but her body language told a different story. 

"What do you want?" she snapped, eyebrows creased together as she glared at the raven haired boy in front of us. Brown skin that had a golden tinge to it under the classroom lights, fat plump lips and big, brown eyes that resembled the earth's soil. Under the freaky personality and stone, cold eyes, there was no denying that he was good looking. 

He just scoffed loudly, the stony expression never wavering. Today he was wearing his signature Slipknot tee-shirt with holes he had (purposely?) cut into it with a long, black trench coat that screamed _'hey, I'm a murderer',_ black skinny jeans (once again, ripped at the knees) and worn Doc Martens. I had always considered our taste in fashion somewhat similar as most of the outfits I owned were black but I always contradicted myself with dyeing my hair weird colors. At the moment, it was bright red, like Coca-Cola can red. 

He began making his way past us, not even sparing us a second glance as he stormed down the steps of our high school, his raven black hair sticking to his forehead from the rain. He made it to the bottom step before a loud clap of thunder boomed across the sky and Courtney let out a small scream. I watched him turn around to face us before he began talking.

"Do you guys want a ride?" 

To say I was shocked was an understatement. I was definitely _not_ expecting that.

I saw Courtney turn to face me, her wet hair sticking to her face and her mascara in black smudges around her eyes. I wasn't sure if it was from the tears or rain or maybe even a concoction of both and the guilt laid heavily in the pit of my stomach. 

We had definitely heard the same thing, Calum Hood asking us if we wanted a ride home.

I went to stand up but Courtney dragged me back down, glaring angrily at me.

"Why?" she shouted back at him, her voice echoing against the sound of the rain. Another roar of thunder sounded out across the carpark and soon a flashing white light followed.

"Because of that," Calum replied, voice monotonous. He seemed unbothered, as if the terrible weather was the least of his worries.

Without another word, the two of us quickly made our way down the steps, trying not to slip on the wet concrete as we made our way to where Calum was standing. There were only a few cars left on the premises and I assumed most of them were from teachers and we followed Calum as he lead us over to a black 1987 Ford Mustang and my eyes widened, wondering how he could afford such a beautiful car. One of those, in such good condition, was difficult to come by and extremely expensive. I didn't take Calum for the wealthy type at all.

I got into the passenger seat and I watched as Courtney hesitantly got in behind, looking around wearily. She caught my eye in the mirror and quickly turned to face the window. I sighed loudly and faced the front and couldn't help but feel in awe of the old, beautiful leather and the interior of the car. I had often seen Calum come into school on a motorbike so I was shocked that he happened to take a car (and a beautiful one at that) in today.

"Nice car," I exasperated, as he nodded once before starting the engine.

"Thanks," he replied, not bothering to look in my direction. He pushed his wet hair out of his face before putting the vehicle into drive. "Do you like music?" he asked, emotionless. I had never heard him speak before and I couldn't help but notice the raspiness that his voice produced. Maybe it was from the lack of talking or maybe it had always been like that. I couldn't hear it very well when we were outside due to the over powering sound of the rain smacking against the ground but I noticed he had an accent. It didn't sound American.

"What?" I replied, taken aback by the random question.

"Do you like music?" he repeated this time a little more irritatedly and I could see Courtney rolling her eyes in the backseat as she hugged her soaked denim jacket closer to her, knowing it would do little to none in keeping her warm.

"Uh, yeah, I like music," I answered, unsure of where this conversation was going.

Suddenly, the blaring music from the car speakers sprung into action and we all covered our ears at the crackling loudness of it. I prayed I still had my hearing by the end of the journey.

He automatically went to turn it down, muttering a quick sorry and I noticed the song that was playing was _Tomorrow_ by Silverchair. 

"Shit, you like Silverchair?" I asked excitedly, wanting to striking a conversation and immediately lighting up at the prospect of someone else knowing who they were.

He glanced in my direction for a quick second before answering, "I didn't know anybody else knew who they were."

"Are you kidding?! They're fucking great!" I said, almost bouncing in my seat. I loved music more than anything else in the world. It was the only thing that ever really helped most times; it made me forget the crippling sadness and divulged me into a world I wanted to stay in forever and never return from. Honestly, I didn't take Calum for a Silverchair fan. His band shirts often displayed hardcore metal bands so the prospect of him knowing who Silverchair were was slim. He happened to prove me wrong.

"Agreed," he replied nonchalantly, glancing at the rear-view mirror to see Courtney staring back at him blankly. "What's your address?" he asked and I almost slapped myself for forgetting to tell him where to take us.

"2405 Arden Avenue,"

He scoffed. "Rich kids, knew it."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Courtney hissed, eyebrows furrowed together in anger. I hadn't really cared that he called us that because it was true. We had a privileged life and upbringing to the majority of other kids in this town but Courtney never liked to be reminded of it. She never did like to feel inferior.

"It means what I said it does," he argued, the coldness in his voice never wavering.

She scoffed loudly and sunk back further into her seat. "Why did you even give him the address, Michael?" she seethed, staring harshly out of the window.

"I'm not going to murder you if that's what you're thinking." The silence that came after that was unnerving, almost as if you could hear a pin drop. Apart from the sound of the heavy rock and occasional metal music playing quietly from the radio, it seemed as if anyone was void of any conversation after Calum's words. He had said it with such a coldness that it made me gulp heavily from the passenger seat next to him. I turned to face the window, admiring the heavy rain drops that smacked against the car. 

The weather had ceased to let up although it had stopped thundering and lightning now. I noticed we had been driving for about twenty five minutes in a deafening silence before Calum pulled up to a familiar neighborhood and I couldn't help but feel nauseous looking at the sight. Rows of beautiful houses on either side of the street, floor to ceiling windows and sleek villas. This was the part of Lake Noir that people argued didn't belong here amongst the rest of the sullenness of the town. I thought it fit perfectly well. After all, no matter what people said, all of Lake Noir was the same in my eyes and the people that lived here bared the same personalities as the rest of the townsfolk. Who cared about wealth in a town such as ours? Arden Avenue was a gated community in the suburbs, hidden far away in the furthest and wealthiest part of town. Behind closed door, they were all the same lifeless people with egotistical views and deemed Lake Noir a defying greatness to Ohio.

Fake people in fake houses living fake lives. Fake happy.

He pulled up outside our house, turning off the engine and I gulped loudly noticing my father was home. From the outside, our house was a beautiful three story house with a pretty front yard and a water fountain and the ugly naked statues mom had bought last year. The ugliness of them made me believe they resembled everything else in this town. 

Courtney rushed out immediately, grabbing her bag and slamming the door shut behind her without even a thank you. It didn't matter how much money we had, it wouldn't change my sister's manners. 

"I'm sorry about Courtney," I said, feeling the need to apologize for my sister's rude and erratic behavior. It wasn't just about her lack of manners, it was about her attitude in the car too. "She's just a little protective, that's all," I attempted to smile but noticed the blank look on his face.

"Don't worry about it, I've dealt with worse," he replied and I couldn't help but notice the tiniest twitch of a smile attempting to make its way onto his face. I just nodded not knowing what to say.

"Well um, have a good rest of the day I guess," I muttered making my way out of the car. "And thank you for the ride, I appreciate it. Courtney did too."

He didn't say anything else as I shut the door behind me. The rain was still incredibly heavy and it made it hard to hear anything but the pelting bullets hitting the concrete.

He rolled down his window, dark eyes glancing up at me from where he was sitting in the drivers seat.

"Have a nice night, Michael."

And I watched as he drove off, out of the neighborhood and back through the decaying streets of Lake Noir.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Courtney has seemed like a bitch so far but I promise there's a reason for it that you'll find out later on. She's probably my favorite character in this whole story. 
> 
> Anyways, please leave kudos and comments and let me know what you think!


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